Saturday, November 17, 2012

CCDD 111612—Training

Cool Card Design of the Day11/17/2012 - I sincerely doubt this is a unique idea. I'm not even sure this is the first time I've thought of it. Even so, it's kinda neat and fairly inoffensive. Reverse Kindle:

5 comments:

I like how they all cost at least 3 generic mana so that you can eventually get the full effect on the fourth card. The beast, though, might play better as a sorcery making a token so that you can get the benefit right away on the second card without waiting for your 3/3 to die.

I'm torn as to whether these should be slightly overcosted in their base form (like Squadron Hawk), or on-curve (like Timberpack Wolf). If they're slightly overcosted, then the drafter who moves in early can expect to pick up multiples late, since they value them more highly than everyone else. If the cards are instead on-curve, people are more likely to pick up their first copy early in the draft, but then multiples are less likely to table, since they're reasonable picks for everybody.

I've thought of this idea before, as well, and I even used a similar flavor -- I called mine "experimentation".

I'd say that their value is heavily dependent on their availability, so Bartolotti's idea of slightly overcosting these cards makes the most sense. They need to be low-priority at first, but become high-priority as you snag them -- so, a sub-theme in draft, almost, much like RtR's enchantment or defender themes (subpar at first, quickly becomes good)

It's a very fun mechanic, as my playtesting can attest to. A few self-mill effects can spice up the decks, too.

"Affinity for cards with the same name in your graveyard." I like this on instants and sorceries. On creatures, it seems like it wants your own creatures to die for the cost reduction benefit, which feels weird.

Yeah, it makes sense to put this strictly on sorceries and instants, making tokens when we want creatures. It could have different wording on permanents, though, if we wanted it on a lot of creatures or more than just creatures:

Training (This card costs {1} less to cast for each card in your graveyard or permanent you control with the same name.)

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We met as competitors and collaborators in the second Great Designer Search. After the contest was over, we decided we still had things to say about designing Magic: the Gathering. So we started a blog.